AHFA Furniture Foundation grants to App State, Catawba Valley

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Furniture Foundation, an education fund established by the American Home Furnishings Alliance, has awarded 2016 grants to Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, and Catawba Valley Community College Alexander Furniture Academy, Taylorsville, North Carolina.

The 2016 awards include $18,000 to ASU to continue the school’s scholarship program for furniture design students. The grant will fund six $3,000 scholarships for the 2016-2017 school year. ASU’s furniture design program is housed in the Department of Applied Design and provides students with a bachelor of science in industrial design focused on product development, creative problem-solving, environmental concerns and manufacturing requirements. Several past foundation scholarship recipients have gone on to work in product design and development within the furniture industry.

The foundation also has awarded $7,500 to the new CVCC Alexander Furniture Academy. The academy is modeled after the highly successful CVCC Furniture Academy launched at the school’s main campus in Hickory last year. The industry-driven training program was designed by local furniture manufacturers to prepare students for sewing operator and upholstery craftsmen positions that are in high demand by the region’s largest employers. The CVCC Furniture Academy in Hickory trains about 30 workers every 6 to 9 months, while the Alexander County program will graduate about 30 students every six weeks.

Tuition for the CVCC Alexander County training program is $250 per student per semester. The foundation grant allows scholarships to be awarded to 30 applicants to complete the training at no cost this year. See www.ahfa.us.

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Karl D. Forth

Karl D. Forth is online editor for CCI Media. He also writes news and feature stories in FDMC Magazine, in addition to newsletters and custom publishing projects. He is also involved in event organization, and compiles the annual FDM 300 list of industry leaders. He can be reached at karl.forth@woodworkingnetwork.com.